Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Write everyday??
OK, I need some help, writers. I got comments back from my advisor today (I'll post more on that later), and one thing she stressed was the importance of writing everyday (nothing new there) and she suggested some exercise books. So my question to you is: if you write every day, do you focus a little time on an exercise or two and then move onto the piece you're working on? Or does working on your piece count as your "write everyday" quota? I am thinking of doing some exercises in the morning before work and then working on my story or whatever after work. Just wondering how others do it.
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7 comments:
Well, Bug, I guess ideally I would do as you suggested, exercises in the morning, writing on a story at night, but damn, I can't seem to stick to any kind of a schedule at all. I just write when I can write, as much as I can, in any form that I can. Sometimes I'll fit in an exercise, sometimes it's just a scribbled line in a notebook. Don't beat yourself up over what you can't do--I think you do plenty. (Physician Heal Thyself you may say to me)
Thanks repeater. That helps. My mentor wasn't as glowing as she was the last time around, so I'm grasping for a new strategy. Sigh...
I'm kind of down on myself because I don't "write" everyday but I"ve lost track of what counts as writing. I do 3 morning pages a day (about 700 words)...Do blog entries count?
As for the exercises, I like to do something every day (I've been doing some of the ones from Pen on Fire, recommended by Tony, and I love them). But I don't actually feel as if I've *written* unless I do new writing on a story. I know I've been no hlep at all. Repeater's advice of not being too hard on yourself is wise. This would be a good blog essay topic. Thanks, Bug.
Thanks TI. Can you elaborate on what morning pages are?
I got the idea of morning pages from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way (great book for reconnecting with your creativity and your creative dreams -- I loved it and got lots out of doing the exercises). She advocates writing 3 longhand pages a day, first thing in the morning. They're "strictly stream of consciousness...brain drain." Journalling doesn't exactly capture them. Sometimes I write story ideas, sometimes I talk abotu what's going on in my life, sometimes I vent...I've been doing them for about four years and they are amazing. They're for no one else's eyes (that's why I dont' really think of them as "writing").
Blog entries and morning pages count as writing in my book.
But if you feel it needs to be more "formal," give yourself an official word count or page count for a short story, novel-in-progress, or essay.
My quota was 1000 polished words a day for my novel, BUT I had to work up to this (like training for a marathon). How did I train? By doing NaNoWriMo two years ago. Our final submission is due 11/6...if we're up to it, we could consider doing it as a daily workout (50,000 words in 30 days).
LOL FC. I was just thinking about Nano. It's so insane! I think that'll have to be a postMFA goal for me. I can't imagine balancing submissions and Nana writing! But more power to ya if you do it! I do think it's a good idea for me to set up mini goals re my work though.
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